Zach Wahls wins Senate District 37 primary

Wahls, a longtime resident of the Iowa Senate district he's campaigning in, made his announcement Thursday evening in Coralville.
Andy Davis/Press-Citizen

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Zach Wahls is greeted by outgoing state Sen. Bob Dvorsky during Wahls' election night party at 30hop in Coralville on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Wahls won the Democratic nomination for Senate District 37, currently held by Dvorsky.(Photo11: Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen)Buy Photo

A resounding victory for Zach Wahls in Eastern Iowa is just the beginning of what he hopes to be a fruitful election year for Iowa Democrats.

Wahls won the Democratic primary for the State Senate District 37 seat with 59.8 percent of the vote. In second place was Janice Weiner with 34.8 percent, followed by Eric Dirth with 2.8 percent and Imad Youssif with 2.6 percent.

Wahls will face Carl Krambeck, the Libertarian candidate who ran unopposed, in the fall.

Wahls said it meant a lot to him that his hometown nominated him so overwhelmingly.

"I hope that tonight is a turning point that marks the beginning of rebuilding our state's social foundation," Wahls told the Press-Citizen. "This represents a renewed commitment to a health care system that works for everybody, a tradition of excellence in our public education, and a strong commitment to worker's rights."

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Zach Wahls is greeted by outgoing state Sen. Bob Dvorsky during Wahls' election night party at 30hop in Coralville on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Wahls won the Democratic nomination for Senate District 37, currently held by Dvorsky. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Janice Weiner is welcomed to her election night party by Martha Hedberg at Gus' in Coralville on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Weiner lost the Democratic primary for the Senate District 37 seat. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Cathy Glasson talks with supporters at The Mill in Iowa City during her election night party on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Glasson lost the Democratic nomination for governor to Fred Hubbell. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Mike Carberry, an incumbent in the June 5, 2018 Democratic primary for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, visits with supporters and his mother, Coleen Carberry, at El Banditos in Iowa City on election night. Andy Davis / Press-Citizen

Zach Wahls supporters gather at 30hop in Coralville during an election night party on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Wahls won the Democratic nomination for Senate District 37. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Zach Wahls supporters gather at 30hop in Coralville during an election night party on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Wahls won the Democratic nomination for Senate District 37. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Zach Wahls checks his phone for election results at his party at 30hop in Coralville on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Wahls won the Democratic nomination for Senate District 37. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Cathy Glasson talks with supporters at The Mill in Iowa City during her election night party on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Glasson lost the Democratic nomination for governor to Fred Hubbell. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Supporters check results from across the state at an election night party for Janice Weiner at Gus' in Coralville on Tuesday night, June 5, 2018. Weiner lost the Democratic primary for the Senate District 37 seat. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Janice Weiner thanks her volunteers during during her election night party at Gus' in Coralville on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Weiner lost the Democratic primary for the Senate District 37 seat. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Martha Hedberg watches for results during Janice Weiner's election night party on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Weiner lost the Democratic primary for the Senate District 37 seat. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

Janice Weiner talks with her campaign manager Zach Johnston, left, and Adam Dinschel about results during her election night party at Gus' in Coralville on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Weiner lost the Democratic primary for the Senate District 37 seat. Joseph Cress / For the Press-Citizen

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Dvorsky, who was at 30hop in Coralville where the Wahls team celebrated its victory, congratulated the candidates on an excellent primary, saying both Wahls and Weiner would have made excellent nominees. He added that he plans to work closely with Wahls in the coming months.

"He raised a really decent amount of money, but I don't think the money was significant," Dvorsky said. "They worked really hard at door-knocking and talking to people was really important."

Despite the tough loss, Weiner said she was proud of her team accomplishing as much as they did. Facing Wahls was challenging, Weiner said, considering his sizable campaign funds and name recognition, but getting to talk with so many Iowans on the trail and hear their stories was a privilege for her.

"We have so much to do as a state to get back to the Iowa that I know and love," Weiner said. "The Iowa where people think independently, and want to take care of their neighbors, and they want to be independent, and they want to be good stewards of the land."

The four candidates all agreed on most of their platform: they want to reverse the Medicaid privatization, increase funding for education, eliminate corporate tax cuts, support a livable wage, they oppose the fetal heartbeat bill, to name a few positions. Their shared values shifted the focus of the race to the candidates' experience and other intangibles.

What made Wahls stand out was his national name recognition. Wahls' impassioned speech in 2011 to the Iowa Legislature went viral when he shared the story of his lesbian mothers, as lawmakers considered ending civil unions in the state. Becoming an advocate for LGBTQ rights, Wahls would go on to lead a campaign, Scouts for Equality, to allow gay and transgender children to join the Boy Scouts.

The campaign gave Wahls a substantial social media following, which in turn attracted wide support and significant campaign donations from out of the state. He outraised Janice Weiner by thousands of dollars, pulling in $67,680 in the last filing period, bringing his total to $121,749.

"It's kind of reverse engineering. You usually start with the grassroots and build," said Nick Westergaard, chief strategist for the Wahls campaign. "So many people talk about his name awareness, and the social profile, but his interpersonal skills are amazing and compelling so that really connects the dots."

Wahls has highlighted his fundraising ability as a reason he'd be a valuable candidate not just for his race but in helping campaign for other Democrats as they hope to retake the Legislature in the fall.

Wahls also secured quite a few notable endorsements within Johnson County, including John Lundell, Mayor of Coralville, several members of the the Iowa City Council and Johnson County Board of Supervisors, and Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness.

Coralville Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Gross served as Wahls' campaign chair, and said Wahls' work in the general election should help lift other Democrats across the state—including the Jodi Clemens race against incumbent Republican Bobby Kaufmann. "We have seen the disastrous results of what happens when we don't unify," Gross said.

Weiner, a former diplomat who has worked in a variety of countries overseas, emphasized her track-record of collaboration and finding common ground with political opposites, something Dvorsky was famous for in Des Moines.

Not having the name recognition that Wahls started with, Weiner still managed to raise a significant amount of money for her campaign, spending $22,778 on advertising, mailing and other expenses in the last filing period.

More than any of her opponents, Weiner emphasized child care in her platform. She sees it as part of her goals to improve education spending to take the burden off parents, and also part of her larger goals of improving quality of life for women in the state. Weiner was one of 99 women running for state or federal office in Iowa this year, up from 65 in 2016 and part of a national wave of female candidates.

Eric Dirth, who is finishing his law degree this year at the University of Iowa, came out strongest of the candidates for criminal justice reform, calling specifically to restore voting rights to former felons who have already served their time. He intentionally did very little fundraising, aiming to run his campaign on only volunteer support.

"We worked hard, but we knew what we were up against," Dirth said late Tuesday night after the results were in. He added that he was happy his campaign brought new topics into the discussion, like money in politics and new ways to connect with voters, saying "those messages resonate, even if they don't result in a vote."

Imad Youssif said he was disappointed in the loss, having expected to do better in the race. Youssif prioritized mental health care, particularly for children, in his campaign as part of his larger goals for improving health care access in the state. Youssif, who previously ran for Coralville City Council, has two masters degrees in business and pitched himself as best fit to encourage economic growth. He added that he worries whether Wahls' has enough experience to have success in Des Moines.

Looking ahead to the general, Krambeck said his campaign will focus on health care and bringing new revenue streams to Iowa. That means legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use, enticing casinos and gambling to the state, and encouraging competition in the health care market.

Along with the other Libertarian candidates throughout the state, Krambeck will be working to introduce the party to Iowans, simultaneously promoting himself and the gubernatorial candidate. He knows he's a "long shot" in a longtime Democratic district, but he said he's excited to share Libertarian ideas across the state, and showing people there's another option.

"No one can ever un-hear what you tell them," Krambeck said. "I'm the only other person on the ballot, and it's going to send a much bigger message to Des Moines if I win."

Wahls said while District 37 will be the first priority, he too is thinking about how best to help his party. He plans to enlist some of his staffers to assist other Democratic campaigns, and will help raise money for the party.

"People here are going to depend on a Democratic majority in the Iowa Senate," Wahls said. "How do we best serve the people of Distrcit 37? A significant part of that will be making sure Democrats win statewide."

Reach Will Greenberg at wgreenberg@press-citizen.com, by phone at 319-887-5407, and follow him on Twitter @wrgree.